A FLAWED TICKET:

THE recent announcement that Sebastien Pillay will be the running mate of United Seychelles’ presidential hopeful, Patrick Herminie, should concern every right-thinking Seychellois. This ticket doesn’t offer hope or renewal — it signals a dangerous return to the past: the same worn-out personalities and entrenched loyalties that have failed this country time and again. Far from representing a new dawn, this is yet another reshuffling of the same old political elite, led from behind the scenes by none other than former President James Michel.

Pillay’s ties to James Michel are deep and undeniable — despite his silence on the matter. Born in Glacis in 1978, Pillay’s professional life began in education, but his political rise was anything but organic. After earning degrees in Education and Leadership from Australia and the UK, he returned to Seychelles to work in education before suddenly appearing in the halls of power, courtesy of Michel.

In 2011, Pillay was catapulted into the National Assembly not through the ballot box but via proportional appointment, handpicked from State House, where he served as Director General for Cabinet and Presidential Affairs. This role placed him at the very core of Michel’s presidency during one of the most controversial periods in our nation’s history, when foreign influence, particularly from Arab billionaires and Russian oligarchs, was tightening its grip on Seychelles.

Even more damning is the personal relationship that ties Pillay to Michel. It has now come to light that Pillay’s wife is a cousin of James Michel’s former spouse. This familial connection explains the extreme level of trust Michel placed in Pillay, including dispatching him in 2011 to rescue the floundering ‘Parti Lepep’ as disillusionment was growing even among party stalwarts. At a time when other party representatives in ‘Parti Lepep’ were beginning to distance themselves from Michel’s misrule, Pillay remained fiercely loyal.

Today, that loyalty continues in silence. Despite the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) pointing fingers at Michel as a perpetrator of serious historical abuses, Pillay — the supposed voice of the people — has maintained a deafening silence. Not once has he used his platform as Leader of the Opposition to demand accountability. Not once has he challenged the fact that Michel’s TRNUC file is collecting dust in Ramkalawan’s office. That’s not oversight — that’s calculated complicity by Sebastien Pillay.

Sebastien Pillay has earned a reputation as the loudest figure in the National Assembly, constantly threatening legal challenges against the LDS government. Yet, not a single constitutional case has been filed. It’s all posturing, all noise, with no substance.

Even more appalling is his and Herminie’s open disdain for certain segments of the population, particularly the taxi operators. They’ve both refused to fight for these hardworking individuals, simply because many of them voted for LDS in the 2020 elections. This is not just petty — it’s unpatriotic. A true leader defends all citizens, not just those who tick the right political box. Their stance reveals a deep-seated bitterness and an inability to rise above partisan revenge.

This is the kind of leadership the US ticket is offering — vindictive, elitist, and wholly unaccountable. And make no mistake: behind both Herminie and Pillay is the long shadow of James Michel, still clinging to influence, still hoping to protect himself and his network from the justice they deserve.

The 2025 elections are not just about choosing the next government — they are about breaking free from a suffocating past. If voters fall for the illusion that Pillay and Herminie represent change, they will find themselves jumping from the frying pan of Ramkalawan’s broken promises into the raging fire of Michel’s legacy. Seychelles deserves better than recycled loyalists with murky ties and selective loyalties.

This is your warning. The next five years hang in the balance. Choose wisely.